Reality Check
by x.angel.of.faith.x
Summary: Yamato and Sora's relationship isn't exactly what everyone thinks it is. shounen-ai&shoujo-ai [COMPLETE!]
1. Acceptance

_Here's my first shounen-ai and shoujo-ai! Well, it isn't the first, per se, but none of its predecessors were worthy of uploading anywhere... As you can see, unless you don't know what shounen-ai or shoujo-ai are, this fic will include male/male pairings and female/female pairings, so if you're offended by that, please leave. The last thing I need is to be flamed by a bunch of homophobes... u_u;  
I just noticed a small continuity error I made, so... let's just say that when Yamato and Sora got together on the show, that actually took place a couple of years later, because I need them to be older... ::shrugs::  
This fic will contain sort-of Sorato, a one-sided shounen-ai Yamato coupling, and a one-sided shoujo-ai Sora coupling, as you probably came to expect by the summary. I'm not going to tell you anything else; you'll have to read it for yourself. This is a multi-chaptered fic and it could go in many directions, so telling everyone how it's going to end up kind of ruins the fun. ^_^;  
As is the norm around here, Digimon is not mine. Never was, never will be, I suppose. But just think of the possibilities if it was... ::sigh::  
This fic is dedicated to Ashley, aka Angel of Peace. Thanks for my first review and request, and I hope this comes out alright... ^_~_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Reality Check  
by Angel of Faith  
Prologue:  
Acceptance**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yamato Ishida tossed a piece of popcorn towards his mouth. It did not end up going where it was intended to, however; it bounced off of his cheek and landed on Sora Takenouchi's leg. "Watch where you're throwing these things," she told him, smiling as she picked up the kernel and ate it. She fidgeted uncomfortably before turning to Yamato. "You know what, Yamato?" The boy in question glanced over at Sora and raised an eyebrow. Sora sighed. "There's... something that I think I should tell you..."

"Not now, the movie's back!" Yamato grinned.

Sora hit Yamato lightly. "This is serious, Yamato!" She sunk back into the couch and crossed her arms, pouting.

Yamato's cheerful gaze softened. He muted the television and looked at Sora. "You know I'm only kidding. Whatever it is you need to tell me... I'm listening."

A smile spread across Sora's face. "Thank you, Yamato. You're my closest friend, and it's really hard for me to tell anyone this, but... it's been eating me up inside and I had to tell someone... I... I think I'm attracted more to girls than to guys." Eagerly, Sora watched Yamato's face for any sign of his reaction. His expression showed no emotion. "Please tell me this doesn't change anything," she pleaded.

"Of course it doesn't." Yamato closed his eyes briefly, looking away. "In fact... I think I'm gay too. I really didn't want anyone to know until I figured everything out, but since you told me and all..." He looked over at Sora. "I guess it's nice to finally be able to talk to someone about it."

Sora hugged Yamato. "Thank you for understanding, Yamato."

Yamato smiled. "What are friends for?"

Sora giggled. "That reminds me of something Aiko said the other day..."

"Oh?" Yamato raised an eyebrow. "What did she say?"

"She said that our friendship was far too perfect, and she insists that we're going out in secret, or that we're 'friends with benefits'." Sora laughed. "Isn't that the most ridicu-"

"That's perfect!" Yamato shouted, jumping up.

"What is?" Sora blinked at Yamato.

"It's the perfect way to keep people from suspecting anything until we're comfortable with it! Sora, will you pretend to go out with me?" Yamato asked.

"What? Oh, come on, Yamato, a fake relationship? I don't-" Sora began.

"Hear me out, OK?" Yamato asked. "Nothing will change, because we spend most of our spare time together anyways. Now we can just call it a date. It won't be like those soap operas where people pretend to go out with each other and then end up falling for each other because we just aren't attracted to each other like that. Like I said, no one could possibly have any suspicions. For me, maybe those crazy fangirls will back off a bit. And for you... uh... well, you'll get a lot of free dinners and movies out of me." Yamato grinned. "If it doesn't work out, we can 'break up'. So what do you say?"

Sora sighed. "Alright, you made your point. I guess we could try it. But I have a bad feeling about this..."

~*~

And with that bad feeling settling into my stomach on that cold December evening, I got tangled up into the most intricate web of lies I had ever witnessed.

Most people told us that they knew we were going to get together sooner or later. We were told that we made the most adorable couple ever, and that we were meant to be. Some said that they could imagine us growing old together.

However, my bad feelings proved to have merit. For us, it was just a game, a disguise, but to everyone else, it was reality. And the reality of our relationship really hurt some of our friends.

Take Taichi Yagami, for instance. Tai had been one of my closest friends throughout my entire life. I knew of the childhood crush he had on me at one point, but I didn't know that it had matured with him and that he still liked me. When we told him and the other Chosen of our so-called relationship, it hurt him, a lot. We worked through it together though, and now, he's enjoying all the date requests he receives, instead of turning them all down, waiting for me.

Jun Motomiya was also hurt by the relationship. She was, and still is, Yamato's biggest fan. At first, we thought that she was just another crazy fangirl, with her fantasies of marrying Yamato someday, only in love with his rock star image, but we came to find out that it ran much deeper than that. Her brother, Daisuke, another friend and fellow Chosen, calmed her down a bit, and afterwards, we talked. She has no hard feelings, and we're actually pretty good friends now.

Upon finding out about the pain we caused, I contemplated calling off the whole thing multiple times. In the end, I only gave up, realizing that Yamato and I had gotten ourselves in far too deep. If we were to end it for those reasons, it would give false hope to the ones we left heartbroken in our wake, and... we were trapped.

But for me, the biggest trial of keeping this relationship was just beyond the horizon.

Mimi Tachikawa was back in Odaiba.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_Alright, how was that? This is my first prologue, to my first multi-chaptered fic, and my first shounen-ai and shoujo-ai... so don't be too hard on me! Although, I admit, it was kind of melodramatic, and a bit cheesy for my taste... u_u; Oh yeah, and don't forget to review! Email me if you prefer to do so: angeloffaith28@yahoo.com  
If you liked this, stay tuned for the first chapter, coming soon!_


	2. Mimi's Return

_Welcome back! Thank you so much to those who reviewed:  
kellyQ - Maybe he should've. But bad decisions make for good stories. ^_^ I also hate it when people write certain characters OOC like that...  
Ashley - Glad you like it so far. ^_^ I'll be updating this piece every week if all goes according to plan. Hopefully, that's soon enough... ^_~  
Aya Rose - Thank you muchly! It should be taking place about now, summer 2003. The prologue takes place December 2002, however, in my failed attempt to keep it somewhat canon. ^_^;  
Here's a quick summary of the previous chapter... er, the prologue: Yamato and Sora confessed to each other that they were homosexual, and started to pretend to be going out. Yeah, that's about it, but hey, it was just the prologue. Oh yeah, you also learn that Mimi's the girl Sora's into, however Yamato's mystery guy remains a mystery. ^_~  
And now, for a chapter with plot content and some more characters... here's Chapter One!_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Reality Check  
by Angel of Faith  
Chapter One:  
Mimi's Return**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sora flipped her dripping hair forward in front of her face and began to rub it dry with the towel. A faint, seemingly distant sound got her attention. Two, three times it sounded. Was that the doorbell? Feeling slightly paranoid, she wrapped the towel around her body and tiptoed out of the bathroom and down the hall. Peering around the corner into the living room, where she had left the door unlocked against her better judgment, she came face to face with- "Hi Sora!"

"Mimi!" Despite the appearance change, Sora recognized the voice immediately, and smiled at her for some time. Suddenly fully aware that she was talking to the object of her affections wearing only a towel, she blushed furiously. "Uh... can you hold on a second?" Sora fled to her bedroom without waiting for an answer. Dressing quickly, she returned to the living room, her face still bright red with embarrassment. "Mimi! What are you doing here?"

"Well, what kind of welcome back is that!" Mimi wrapped her arms around the older girl. "But to answer your question, I moved back! I didn't want to tell anyone so they'd be surprised... so... surprise!"

"That's great!" Sora awkwardly tried to pry herself out of Mimi's grasp.

"How have you been?" Mimi asked.

"Pretty good, I'd say, and you?" Sora responded.

"Great! So... how's Yamato?" Mimi raised an eyebrow and grinned, her gossipy side taking over.

"Good, good." Sora didn't have much to say on the subject.

Mimi smiled. "That's good. How long has it been?"

Sora paused in thought. "We just had our eight-month anniversary on the twelfth," she said.

"That's wonderful! Well, I'd love to chat some more, you know, but I have a bunch more people to visit today." Mimi pulled a little piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to Sora. "This is my new number, so you can call me later and we can have a good old-fashioned gossip fest, just like old times."

Sora smiled. "Alright, I will then. See you around."

"Bye!" And with that cheerful word, Mimi skipped happily out of Sora's apartment.

Sora let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She flopped backwards onto her couch, grabbing the cordless phone off the table as she did so. Dialing Yamato's familiar number, she sighed, waiting for him to pick up.

_"Hello?"_

Sora smiled to herself. "Hi Yamato."

_"Hey Sora, what's up?"_

Sora laughed. "Well, it's a long story, but it involves Mimi coming over and seeing me in a towel..." At the other end of the line, Yamato laughed.

_"Let me guess, Mimi's the one you have a crush on?"_

Yamato laughed again. "Yeah, she's the one," Sora told him. "It was so embarrassing..." Sora paused. "Hey, how come you never told me who you like?"

_"Because I don't want to."_

Biting her lip, Sora frowned. "Why not?"

_"Because he and I could never, ever in a million years work out, and... it's sort of embarrassing... I guess I just don't really want to come to terms with liking him, and as long as I'm the only one who knows, I can deny it all I want."_

"Why, are you afraid of rejection?" Sora teased.

_"No... it's a lot more than that. Speaking of, if you want to quit this relationship thing so you can go for Mimi, just give me the word, alright?"_

"Alright. But that won't be for a while. I'll have to work up some courage first." Sora sighed.

_"Well, I've got band practice in a little while so I've got to go get ready, alright? You know, got that concert coming up next month. Call my cell if you need anything. Talk to you later."_

"OK, bye." Sora shook her head and sighed, a slight smile playing across her lips, as she went to hang up the phone.

~*~

Mimi flopped down on her freshly-made bed, the only sanity in her room filled with half-empty cardboard boxes in chaotic disarray. She took her diary from the box she had found it in earlier while unpacking and began to write in it.

****

8-17-03

Dear Diary

Mimi tapped her pen against the paper, trying to string the words together correctly in her mind before writing them down.

****

Dear Diary,

It's been a while since I've written. That is mostly because this diary has been buried in a box with some of my other things, in preparation for the move. But now that we've comfortably settled down for the most part, I have some time to write.

I finally got a chance to go and visit the other Chosen today. They all recognized me, even the younger ones, and I was surprised. I hadn't come to visit in at least five months, and I'd really changed my looks... not to mention, they hardly know me to begin with.

Mimi caught a glimpse of her reflection in the vanity mirror that was currently leaning against the wall. It was true that she changed her looks often, but this time around, the change was more drastic than usual. Her hair reached her waist, and it was straight and a darker brown than her natural color, with black streaks. As she had been prescribed to wear contacts, she opted for the green ones, deciding that green eyes suited her new hair color better. And she had even changed her wardrobe this time - comfortable pants and sneakers now replacing the fashionable miniskirts and clunky boots - though her tastes remained the same. Her wardrobe was still largely pink.

**The most interesting visit was Taichi's. It would seem, by the constant blushing and the stutter he somehow picked up when he was around me, that he has a little crush on me. It's pretty funny. Out of everyone, he was the last one I had expected to get a crush on me, even though I helped him out when he was hurting about Sora...**

Mimi sighed, and recalled that Taichi had called her the very minute he got back from that fateful concert, telling Mimi every detail about the rejection. Mimi had consoled and advised him well into the night - well, it was only the afternoon where she was, but she was pretty sure that it was late at night in Odaiba when they had gotten off the phone.

****

Speaking of Sora, I still get the feeling that there's something odd going on with her relationship with Yamato. It was pretty weird that neither of them told me about it until three and a half months after Taichi did, and when I asked Sora about Yamato today, she sort of brushed it off as an unimportant topic. I hope they aren't having those relationship problems. Maybe I can help them.

Miyako still seems to admire me a lot. She thinks of me as a role model, and that's one of the greatest feelings in the world. I laughed when she asked me for tips on how to get her crush to like her, though. I haven't had much luck in that area. Sure, I've had a few boyfriends, but there's always something missing in my relationships. We always break up within a week or two. It's like I'm waiting for something they don't have. Oh well. Maybe now that I'm back in my home, I can find what it is I'm looking for and experience true love.

~*~

"Kobayashi passes the ball to Ken 'The Rocket' Ichijouji... Ichijouji makes a run for the goal... intercepted with an amazing slide tackle by Daisuke Motomiya of Odaiba!"

"Yay Daisuke!" Mimi cried, standing up and cheering. Of course, she also did the same whenever Ken made a good move. This led her companions, Taichi, Sora, Hikari and Takeru, to sink back in their seats, pretending they weren't with her. Mimi glared at the others. "Come on, you guys! Don't you want to support your friends?"

"Of course we do," Hikari replied.

"It's just that when we cheer for both teams at the same time, it makes us look like we're a few donuts short of a dozen," Takeru continued, smiling.

"Hmph." Mimi crossed her arms and returned to her seat between Taichi and Sora. "You shouldn't care that much about what people you don't even know think about you." Her anger didn't last long, though, as she suddenly recalled something Sora had told her before the game. It had been about Koushiro and Miyako not being able to make the game because they were doing something together, and how Koushiro insisted it wasn't a date while Miyako wished that it was. Mimi smiled to herself, taking a mental note to tease Koushiro the next time she saw him.

A while later, after the game had finished, Daisuke and Ken had rejoined the group.

"Hey Hikari, did you see that great goal I made in overtime? I single-handedly won the game for my team! And I owe it all to you." Daisuke grinned. "Right before I took the shot, I said to myself, 'I've got to get a goal for Hikari.' Well, here you go!"

Hikari smiled. "Why, thank you, Daisuke. I've got pictures of it, too," she said, raising her camera. "I'll show you when they get developed."

Ken smirked at Hikari. "Did you get any of my three goals, all of which were dedicated to you, on film?" He raised an eyebrow, giving Hikari a knowing look.

"Yup!" Hikari responded, grinning. Daisuke pouted and Hikari gave him a hug. "Aw, Daisuke, just because you aren't as good as Ken doesn't mean we like you any less." She giggled.

Daisuke frowned. "Ha, ha, very funny." His expression soon brightened, though. "Let's all go out for a victory lunch in my honor!" He grinned while the others sweatdropped, but agreed to his idea anyway.

Takeru watched all this with a scowl, and mumbled something about waiting for basketball season. He followed the threesome out to the parking lot. Sora watched this with amusement as she followed them, Mimi and Taichi not too far behind.

"Mimi, you haven't missed a beat since you got here," Taichi told her. "It's like you picked up your life right where you left off."

"I know, it feels like I never left," Mimi agreed.

The pair had caught up to Sora, as she had slowed down for just that purpose, and she only caught the next thing Taichi said.

"Y'know, Mimi, I've been meaning to ask this since you came back, because... well, no reason, I guess." Taichi stumbled over his words and a blush crept onto his face. By now, the group had stopped, the pair of girls staring at Taichi expectantly, waiting for his question. "What I'm trying to say is... would you like to, uh... would you like to maybe see a movie, or something, with me tonight?"

Mimi blinked, and Sora's response left her lips before she even knew it was happening. "What?!"

~*~

I really couldn't believe I went through with it.

Though I only saw Mimi maybe three or four times a year, she was always there for me, willing to run up her long-distance bill if I ever needed to talk. She helped me out with all of my problems, and it was when she helped me get over Sora that I realized that it was partially because I was falling for her.

I was aware that Mimi's opinion was that long-distance relationships could never work, and the way she spoke, it seemed that she had a different boyfriend each week. And still, I would daydream that someday, Mimi would move back here and declare her love to me.

Well, she didn't declare any love or anything like that, but I was still astonished when I opened up the door and saw her standing there.

Originally, I wasn't going to say anything, because I thought it was too soon. She had only moved back this week, after all. But Hikari made a good point when she said that it wasn't like we'd only known each other a week. And she also said I'd better act soon, because there are probably a bunch of other people with their eyes on her.

So I asked her out. The only thing I had to do was wait for her answer.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_What _will_ Mimi say? ^_~ Heh, I apologize for the general corny-ness of that last part. This chapter was hard to write. Do you know how much I had to refrain myself from having someone score during that soccer scene, and having some guy run around with his shirt pulled up over his face yelling, "GOL!!!!"? I think I watch the Spanish channels a bit too much... ^_^; Yet I still probably have some soccer terms wrong... u_u;  
Well, come back next time for Chapter Two, because you know you want to see what Mimi will say. And some other stuff, I'm sure. As always, I'd love it if you'd hit me up with a review, or an electronic mail [angeloffaith28@yahoo.com] or whatever. Later!_


	3. The Fantasy Ends

_Once again, I must thank and respond to my reviewers:  
kellyQ - Thanks a bunch ^_^ I really appreciate the reviews!  
Ashley - I know all about that crush denial thing from experience. ^_~ Only one thing you wonder about is resolved this chapter, guess which one... O.o  
She'kspeare - Thanks ^_^ If only the stuff I write in school would end up like this lol...  
Well, if you're just tuning in and decided to skip the last chapter for whatever reason, Mimi surprised everyone and moved back to Odaiba without warning, Yamato and Sora talked as usual, lots of characters thought about their love lives in an introspective fashion, Taichi asked Mimi out... oh, and Sora was almost naked... O.o hehe... I know, not too much actually happened, even though I hyped up the whole 'there will be plot in this chapter' thing. There should be plot in this chapter, though. And more random appearances from other characters! ^_~_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Reality Check  
by Angel of Faith  
Chapter Two:  
The Fantasy Ends**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

__

Last chapter...

The pair of girls stared at Taichi expectantly, waiting for his question. "What I'm trying to say is... would you like to, uh... would you like to maybe see a movie, or something, with me tonight?"

Mimi blinked, and Sora's response left her lips before she even knew it was happening. "What?!"

Mimi continued to blink for a while, dumbstruck. After pausing for a while, she smiled. "Sure, why not?"

Taichi grinned. "Really? Wow, Mimi... I... don't know what to say!"

Mimi giggled. Sora, however, was left to stare at the two in shock. She needed to get out before she said anything she was going to regret. "Oh no..." she said suddenly, as the trio reached the parking lot where the others were. The entire group looked at Sora expectantly. "I was... supposed to meet Yamato in a few minutes, his practice is almost over. I almost forgot. I guess I won't be able to go to lunch with you guys after all." She tried to fake a regretful smile and climbed into her car. "See you around." Without waiting for a response, she sped off.

Angry tears collected in Sora's eyes, but she refused to let them fall. How could she have not seen it coming? Mimi had boyfriends frequently; if Sora never told Mimi how she felt, something like this was bound to happen sometime. She tried her hardest to ignore the burning sensation behind her eyes.

Sora focused all of her energy on driving. She didn't have a destination in mind, but somehow, subconsciously, she found herself driving towards the dance hall that the owners had kindly allowed the Teenage Wolves to practice in during the daytime, when they didn't rent it out. She decided to make her lie into the truth, and give Yamato a visit.

Letting herself into the dance hall quietly, Sora tried not to disturb the practicing band. She took a folding chair from the wall and opened it up, throwing herself into it dejectedly, watching the band. Her eyes met Yamato's briefly and she offered a weak wave, to which he responded with a nod and kept singing:

**You've got a boy, you've got a girl  
Sittin' underneath a tree  
They sit there everyday**

Turn Around. Sora always was partial to that song. She didn't know why, really; she just always liked it. Vaguely, she recalled that this was also Mimi's favorite song off of his CD.

Mimi... every single thought seemed to lead back to her. Sora submitted to her emotions, and finally let the tears she had been holding back fall freely.

Yamato clued in to this emotional disturbance soon after its onset, and immediately interrupted the practice, setting his bass down against one of the large speakers. Takashi, who played rhythm guitar, sighed. "Yamato, our biggest gig in two years is coming up three weeks from now..."

"I know, but my girlfriend is over there crying..." Yamato replied pointedly, hopping off of the slightly elevated stage and walking Sora out of the hall.

"And you wonder why you never have a girlfriend," Yutaka quipped from behind the drum set, receiving a glare in return.

Akira sighed after a pause. "Well, this isn't the Yamato Ishida Band, you know, we can be productive without him. Let's play the new one you wrote, Takashi." Both guitarists nodded in agreement and Akira started on the opening guitar solo.

Outside of the door, Sora and Yamato leaned against the concrete precipice of the building. "What's wrong, Sora?" Yamato asked.

"Everything," Sora sighed. "Mostly the fact that Tai asked Mimi out, and she accepted. I don't know why it was so surprising, and I'm probably overreacting... but everything just seems to be falling apart in front of me lately."

Yamato placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. "I know the feeling, believe me." He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Every time he-" Yamato stopped, as if correcting a mistake "-never mind, but I definitely know the feeling." Sora raised an eyebrow questioningly, but said nothing. "After practice is over, we can go get some ice cream, or whatever else'll cheer you up, my treat, OK?"

A slight smile pulled at the corner of Sora's mouth. "Alright. You know what, Yamato? You're a great pretend boyfriend, and whoever it is that doesn't return your feelings for whatever reason... well, he's really missing out."

"Thanks, Sora." A smile brightened Yamato's features and he wrapped an arm around Sora's shoulders, the pair reentering the dance hall. "Sounds great, guys!" he told the band, trying to shout over the music, as he climbed back up onto the stage, took up his bass, and found his part in the music.

~*~

_"Sora! I know you're there! Pick up!"_

As Mimi's voice blared out of her answering machine, Sora sighed, knowing she'd have to comply. Mimi would never give up. She placed the handset to her ear. "Hello?"

_"Oh, there you are, I was beginning to think you were trying to avoid me!"_

Mimi said this with a hint of laughter, but Sora sweatdropped. 'If you only knew...' She forced a laugh. "Of course not, Mimi. What's up?"

_"I'm great, but that's not the issue. How are you doing? You've been kind of distant for a while."_

Sora bit her lip. "Have I? I hadn't noticed." She began to pace back and forth, as much as the phone cord would allow. She never was a good liar, bur it was usually her facial expressions that betrayed her. Would Mimi be able to tell over the phone?

_"Oh. Well... I'll just put this bluntly. Sora, are you and Yamato having problems with your relationship?"_

"No! Of course not, what made you think that?" Sora smacked herself in the head. That answer came much too quickly, Mimi'll suspect something for sure. Sora became more nervous with every second of silence from the other end of the line, but finally, Mimi spoke.

_"I don't really know. But that's good to hear. In that case, would you guys like to double with Taichi and I tomorrow night?"_

Sora almost choked. "Uh... Yamato's working tomorrow night." That was true, and it still sounded like she was lying. Sora sighed in frustration. "Maybe next time?"

_"Yeah, maybe. Well, you sound busy or something, maybe I should be going."_

"Alright." Sora smiled. That's what it sounded like? "Talk to you later, then."

_"Yeah, later."_

Sora hung up the phone, ready to bang her head against the wall. She let out a scream of frustration, and decided she needed to get out of the house. 'Things just keep getting better,' she thought. Now she was really torn. Mimi was genuinely concerned about her. She'd have to come clean about her feelings sometime, or just continue to avoid Mimi like she had been doing, and continue to hurt her.

What Sora needed was some good old-fashioned objective advice, and so she went to the guy with all the answers.

~*~

"Oh, Koushiro!" Yoshie Izumi called happily. "You have company!"

"Tell Miyako it would be beneficial if I was left undisturbed," Koushiro mumbled dismissively.

Yoshie shrugged at Sora. Not having heard Koushiro's response anyway, she said, "Just go to his room. You know how he is."

Sora smiled. "Yup, he's lost in whatever he's doing on that computer of his, I'm sure," she said as she proceeded to Koushiro's room. Peering into it, she learned she was right, but she had no doubts that she wasn't, anyway. "Hi Koushiro," she said. "What are you doing?"

"Hello, Sora. Your visit is quite unexpected, yet desirable," Koushiro told her.

Sora grinned. "Let me guess, Miyako has been bugging you about a date?"

"Indeed. She visits often, and appears to have formed an alliance with my mother. The both of them have their minds set on disturbing me from my work as often as possible." Koushiro still typed, and hadn't glanced up at Sora once.

"Well, that's a good thing. We all thought we were bringing you out of your shell a while ago, but you seem to have reverted or something." Sora laughed and peered over Koushiro's shoulder at the window filled with typing. "What is this?" she asked again.

"I'm trying to write a program that will calculate the surface area of solids, having edges defined by polynomial type functions, by using their integrals," Koushiro told her, grinning. "It has proven to be quite a challenge." Sora sweatdropped and nodded. She didn't say anything - Koushiro probably already knew that she had no idea what he was talking about.

Koushiro saved the file and ran it. "Ah, I see there is an error," he said, sweatdropping as his computer froze. He restarted it and finally turned to Sora. "What brings you here?" he asked.

"I'm in need of some advice," Sora said. "I was... asked for advice on this myself, and I didn't really know what to say." Koushiro nodded as Sora paused, indicating for her to continue. "A friend of mine has one of those huge, undying types of crushes on this girl. Well, the girl got herself a boyfriend just as my friend was getting ready to tell her about the crush. My friend practically went into depression.

"Now, they have a close friendship, and the girl notices something is wrong and is very concerned with my friend. My friend knows that not telling the girl will cause her pain, but feels however that it would be inappropriate to tell her, considering she has a boyfriend.

"That is pretty much the whole situation, and when asked about it, I was completely boggled. Do you have any ideas?" Sora asked, finally finishing the story.

"Hm..." Koushiro thought about it for a while. "It would seem to me that the best course of action would be for your friend to tell this girl that he is interested in her. The girl would not be able to make a decision properly without all the facts. With that information, she may decide that she would rather date your friend than her current boyfriend. If not, at least she knows how he feels, and options are now open considering she breaks up with the current boyfriend in the future."

Sora smiled. "Thank you, Koushiro. That's really helpful. You always were so great at looking at a situation from all the angles."

"You're very much welcome," Koushiro replied. "Is there anything else?"

Sora considered this, and then grinned. "You and I need to hang out sometime. Outside somewhere, away from computers." She laughed at Koushiro's nonplussed expression. "You will, even if I have to drag you there myself!"

Koushiro sweatdropped. "They're all against me..."

~*~

Sora walked into Yamato's apartment casually, as if it was her own. "Hey, Yamato, what movie are we watching tonight?" she asked.

"I don't know," Yamato replied, holding a stack of DVDs out to her. "But, with things the way they are lately, it definitely has to be a comedy." As Sora had made her selection, he went to return the remaining ones to the DVD rack. "You know, Sora, I've been thinking."

"You have, really? That's great!" Sora quipped.

"It's great to know your sense of humor is in good shape," Yamato returned sarcastically, "but I was thinking... that maybe, it's time to level, you know, come clean with everyone. Get out of this fake relationship. Because at this point, it's only just making everything worse for us."

A relieved sigh escaped Sora's lips. "I'm so glad you just said that," she told him.

"Why's that?" Yamato asked.

Sora smiled. "Well, I went to talk to Koushiro this afternoon. I told him about my current situation indirectly. In his opinion, the best course of action would be to tell her that I like her, so that when she knows all the facts, she can make the best decision concerning Taichi and I. I think he has a point."

Yamato frowned in thought. "Hm. He does have a point there. Never thought of it like that, really."

"So we'll tell the others soon?" Sora asked hopefully.

"Better than soon. We'll tell them tomorrow. We can have everyone meet at the dance hall, right before the band and I practice. Now, what do you want to do about your parents? For me, I think it's about time everyone knew, I'll have them come down too. Are you comfortable telling your parents at this point?" Yamato paced the room while talking.

Sora frowned. "Not really... but it's better just to tell everyone at one setting and have it over with," she decided.

Reaching for the remote, Yamato grinned. "Great. You tell your parents to meet us there, and I'll get mine and send an email out to the other Chosen. This hidden nightmare will finally be over."

Sora smiled at Yamato, taking the remote from his hand as she sat down beside him. "Perfect. And now, for the movie."

~*~

Mimi flicked through the channels lackadaisically. She wasn't concerned with what was on the television; she just stayed up waiting for Sora. She had left a message telling her to come over whenever she got home from where she was, and that it was urgent. That was the only tactic she had left to use - Sora was definitely avoiding her, and she had an idea why.

The sound of the buzzer startled her from her reverie. Looking through the tiny hole in the door and, seeing wisps of red hair, hurriedly unlocked the door. "I'm glad you came, Sora, I wasn't sure if you would or not."

"Of course I would, you said it was important. I just got back." Sora stepped into Mimi's apartment.

"At..." Mimi peered up at the clock. "...eleven thirty? Where were you?"

"Yamato's." Sora shrugged. "We usually watch a movie on one of the nights we're both off work each week. So what was so important that you'd have me come over here in the middle of the night?"

Mimi looked at the floor sheepishly. "Nothing was that important. But you're avoiding me and I was afraid you'd just delete the message if I left a regular one, or if I called you, you might hang up. I needed to talk to you face to face."

"What about?" Sora asked.

Mimi frowned, noting that Sora didn't address the avoidance at all in her response. "About what I just said! About why you are avoiding me!"

"Listen, Mimi," Sora started, "I'm not avoiding you. I'm just busy, is all. The girl that usually works afternoons for my mom has been really sick for the past week, and usually she tries not to ask me to help out because I used to hate it so much, but she had to."

Mimi glared at Sora, and her eyes widened. She looked taken aback. "Don't lie to me, Sora!" Mimi almost shouted. "I know what this is about."

"You... you what?" Sora blinked at Mimi.

Mimi took a few steps closer to Sora. "Of course I do, it's been obvious from the start. It's because of me and Tai being in a relationship."

Sora still blinked, almost in shock. "It was that obvious?" she asked. Her tone softened a bit. "But how can you hold it against me?"

Another glare. "Because you have Yamato, of course! I knew there were problems with your relationship from the start, when Taichi told me about when you got serious about it at that concert, and you didn't tell me for another three months afterward! You have Yamato, and now I have Tai! If you were attracted to him from the beginning you shouldn't have broken his heart by choosing Yamato over him!" Tears trailed down Mimi's cheeks, which were bright red with anger - and hurting her friends was the thing that made her the angriest.

Sora felt a surge of anger within her as well. "Oh, this is what you think this is about? You think I'm jealous of _you_ because you're with Tai?" Mimi nodded, crossing her arms. Sora walked over to the door, but suddenly spun around. "That's not even close at all!" She threw the door open and was about to leave when she once again turned to look at Mimi.

"Maybe the real truth is the one thing you didn't think of! Maybe the truth is that Yamato and I didn't take our relationship seriously because we were only pretending to go out in the first place! Maybe we just put on this act so that people wouldn't know the truth, that we're both gay, and that I'm in love with you!" Tears streamed down Sora's face now. She tried to keep up the angry tone but failed. "I bet you didn't think of that," she softly sobbed as she slammed the door and ran down the hall.

And Mimi was left to stare at the door, open-mouthed and disbelieving.

~*~

Sora was in love with me! I couldn't believe it at first.

But the more I thought back on it, the more I saw the signs. She cared so much about me, and I always thought it was only as best friends, because I thought I felt the same way. Could it be...?

Was the reason why I could never find true love because I was looking in all the wrong places? Was it because I dated guys, as culture and tradition dictated, without even considering that I could love another woman?

Could Sora be the one for me?

After being with Taichi for only that short while, just like with my other boyfriends, I knew he wasn't the one for me. I agreed to date him because we were friends, and love could have grown between us... but it didn't. There just wasn't that... spark. Something inside just told me that I didn't love him.

I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to hurt Tai - out of all of my boyfriends, he was the one I was closest to before entering a relationship - but I knew I didn't love him, at least, we didn't love each other in the same way. At the same time, Sora said she loved me, and, to be fair, I should give her a chance. Maybe that was the missing puzzle piece in my relationships... maybe, deep down inside, I never even liked boys at all. But...

I was so mixed up! I wondered, what happened to my simple life?

Unfortunately, things weren't about to get any simpler for any of us.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_This was, by far, the most fun chapter to write. I mean, plot is always fun. And then there was Koushiro. His way of speaking is cool. I talk like that sometimes. ^_^ Seriously. I know I am a geek, I mean, I knew what he was talking about, though I'm not sure if it can be done or not... u_u;  
Oh yeah, just wanted to mention that I have no idea what instruments the band members play, just their names, so I gave them something. Please don't hurt me if I was wrong... ^_~ And Akira plays solo guitar, or first guitar as it is also sometimes called, in case you didn't get that from context. ^_~  
Anywho, reviewing this and/or emailing me [angeloffaith28@yahoo.com] are things that make me very happy, so if you would kindly do so... I would be very happy. ^_^ And be sure to come back next chapter, where you **finally** get to see who it is that Yamato likes! It only took two chapters and a prologue... u_u;_


	4. Confessions

_Only two reviews this time? I'll have to get four on this chapter to keep up my average, lol. ^_~ Anyway:  
Ashley - Well, everything you've been wondering about is resolved this chapter, so you won't have to wonder much longer. ^_^  
Aya Rose - I *was* fighting a bout of writer's block there, and also a bit of what I call the "Oh my God, this is so crappy that I shouldn't post it anywhere, ever!" syndrome on this chapter. u_u; lol  
It's really been a while, hasn't it? O.o I apologize for the delays. Well, since I doubt you feel like rereading the previous chapter, and I also doubt you remember quite what happened in it, here's a summary for you: Mimi accepted Taichi's invitation to go on a date, which upset Sora, who went to talk to Yamato about it. Mimi began to suspect something was wrong with her relationship. Sora went to Koushiro, looking for advice, and after talking to Yamato, the pair decided that it would be best to stop pretending and planned to come clean about the relationship the next day. And Mimi confronted Sora about what she thought was the problem - that Sora was harboring feelings for Taichi - and Sora angrily admitted to loving her. Looks like it's about to get interesting._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Reality Check  
by Angel of Faith  
Chapter Three:  
Confessions**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Taichi pulled his shirt over his head, his hair somehow remaining intact, as he heard the buzzer sound. He was about to ask Hikari to get it, but he heard the shower running. "Hold on, I'll be there in a minute!" he called. Pulling on his pants hastily, he ran over to the door and swung it open. "Hi Mimi," he said, leaning down to give her a light kiss on the cheek.

"Hi Taichi," Mimi replied, rushing past him, pacing back and forth in his apartment.

Shutting the door, Taichi turned to Mimi. "So, what brings you here this early?"

Mimi continued her nervous pacing, clasping her hands together. "I really, really hate to do this." She sat down on his couch, and he moved to sit beside her. "I care a lot about you. But I-"

"You don't think our relationship could work?" Taichi filled in for her.

"Not exactly. I think maybe it could work... but..." Mimi sighed. "What I'm trying to say is, I think we'd make a better pair of friends, rather than lovers."

Taichi looked at the floor. "There's someone else?" he asked in a flat voice, looking up.

"In a way. I'm really confused about what I want right now, but I think this is what's best for both of us." Mimi looked into his eyes, taking his hand into hers.

"I understand," Taichi told her sullenly, averting his gaze once more.

"I really hate to hurt you like this," Mimi said helplessly, absent-mindedly tracing designs on the back of Taichi's hand with her fingers. "Everything's just so confusing now. I don't know what to think."

Taichi turned, his eyes meeting Mimi's once more. "Go to whoever it is that you're so confused about. You know I'd rather see you happy with someone else than unhappy with me."

"You mean it?" Mimi asked. Taichi nodded, without saying a word. "Thank you so much," she said as she hugged him fiercely, her words muffled as she spoke into his shirt. "That means a lot to me."

Taichi nodded silently, attempting to swallow the lump he suddenly felt at the back of his throat. "Maybe," he said, pausing to lick his spontaneously dry lips, "maybe it just wasn't meant to be."

"Maybe." Mimi sighed again. "I'm so, so sorry. I can't say much now, though. Everything will be clearer soon." Without looking back, she fled from his apartment.

Taichi sighed, placing his head in his hands. "I lose more love interests that way." A gentle touch on his shoulders startled him, and he peered up at his sister.

"Don't worry," Hikari said. "You'll find someone who's just perfect for you, and likewise, you'll be perfect for her. It might take some time, and a few mistakes, but it'll be worth it."

A tiny smile pulled on the corner of Taichi's mouth. "You say that as if you know," he said.

"I do know," Hikari replied, giving her brother a warm smile and heading back to her bedroom.

~*~

As Yamato arrived at the dance hall, he saw that some of the early risers were there already. Miyako and Iori spoke with Jyou, leaning against the side of the building next to the door. Taichi and Hikari stood near one of the building's corners, Mimi all the way down by the other.

"Yamato," Akira hissed, pulling him aside, "I wasn't aware that we were having a public practice today." The guitarist shifted uncomfortably under the weight of his guitar, slung over his back in its case.

Yamato shrugged. "Neither was I." He grinned at his bandmate and longtime friend. "I just brought everyone here to make an announcement, that's all. Though, now that you mention it, they probably will want to stay for the practice." He proceeded to the door, pushing it open. "Door's always open," he told everyone.

"We knew," Iori explained. "We just felt it would be impolite to go in without the one who invited us here."

"I just didn't know the door was open," Taichi grumbled as the group converged on the doorway. He pushed past everyone to be the first inside, and immediately stalked over to a table that hadn't been put away.

Mimi gazed at him worriedly, but sat at the other side of the room, giving him his space. Miyako cheerfully sat beside her. "You don't seem to be feeling like yourself today, Mimi," she noted.

"I had to break up with Taichi," Mimi replied simply.

Miyako's gaze softened. "I'm sorry," she said, before noticing that Koushiro had just arrived and running to meet him.

One by one, the remaining Chosen and band members arrived. Takeru came, his and Yamato's mother following. Daisuke rushed in seconds later, hurrying to take the seat beside Hikari before Takeru did. Yutaka and Takashi arrived together, followed by Sora and both her parents. Ken walked in minutes later, and, finally, Yamato's father strode into the dance hall, a few minutes after the time Yamato had asked everyone to be there.

"Got caught in traffic," Hiroaki Ishida grumbled. Yamato shrugged.

"Well, now that everyone's here," Yamato started, beckoning Sora up onto the stage, "Sora and I have something to tell you."

"You ran off together and got married?" Miyako squealed. The color drained from Natsuko Takaishi and Toshiko Takenouchi's faces simultaneously.

"Don't tell me you got her pregnant, Ishida," Takashi said. Haruhiko Takenouchi and Hiroaki's faces paled, matching those of the women.

Sora laughed. "No, nothing like that," she said. "But what we have to say is almost just as hard. You see... Yamato and I..."

Yamato picked up where Sora left off. "We're... we're... Sora and I are homosexual."

A deafening silence fell over the group. Takeru was the first to speak. "Why didn't you tell us?" he asked. "Why did you pretend to go out like that?" He locked eyes with his brother, and Yamato looked away quickly.

"Well, that was my idea, to keep away the suspicions people might have. As for why we didn't just tell you... well... I guess we weren't ready to. We were afraid of what you'd think, as irrational as it sounds." Yamato looked at the floor.

Miyako frowned, crossing her arms. "Didn't you know we'd accept you for who you are? I'm glad you spoke up now, though."

Toshiko stood, her eyes set on Sora's. "Sora, you know you can tell us anything, we could never think anything less of you. You know we'll always love you."

Tears started to form in Sora's eyes. "You don't know how much that means to me," she said, jumping down from the stage and enclosing her mother in a tearful embrace.

"Same for us, son," Hiroaki said, unconsciously placing a hand on Natsuko's shoulder.

Natsuko nodded. "We're both behind you one hundred percent in whatever you choose, Yamato."

A small smile pulled at the corner of Yamato's mouth. "Thanks," he said simply, shoving his hands into his pockets. He glanced at his bandmates, who had been behind the pair the whole time, anticipating a small announcement and then straight into the practice. "What do you guys think?" he asked them.

"Well, I say, to each his own." Yutaka grinned at him. "That is, of course, as long as you don't hit on me, as flattering as it may be..."

The entire group broke into nervous laughter, glad that something had finally cut the tension. Yamato tried to glare at him, but the look didn't hold as a grin lit up his face. Sora rejoined Yamato on the stage, looking around at the group. The parents looked sort of worried; Miyako was still grinning widely; Takeru, Jyou, Mimi, and Hikari watched the stage intently; Taichi, Ken, and Iori still looked somewhat surprised; Koushiro looked indifferent as usual; and Daisuke... he was staring at Hikari. Sora smiled at the group. "It really means a lot to both of us that you can accept this."

Hikari smiled. "We've been such close friends for so long, how could we let anything change that?" she said.

"Exactly!" Daisuke grinned. "What she said." Hikari sweatdropped, and she and half of the room rolled their eyes. Daisuke was, of course, oblivious to it all.

"Hey," Akira said, raising his eyebrows at Yamato, "Are we going to start this practice or what?"

Yamato laughed, and nodded at the band. "Let's do it," he said, quickly adding a "No, not like that" to his statement before Yutaka could comment.

~*~

Mimi emerged from the stairs as Sora was unlocking her apartment's door. She approached cautiously, figuring that she was probably the last person Sora wanted to see at the moment, or ever again for that matter, after last night. As she was about to enter her apartment, Mimi placed a hand on her shoulder. Sora whirled around in confusion. "Mimi?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk," Mimi simply answered. She stared into Sora's eyes, but her expression was unreadable. Sora simply nodded, and led her into the empty apartment. Mimi felt the need to say something to break the awkward silence between them, but nothing came to mind.

"Um... do you want a drink?" Sora asked. So she had noticed the awkwardness of the situation, too.

Mimi sat down on Sora's couch. "Sure, just a glass of water is fine," she told her, and Sora hurried into the kitchen. She leaned back on the couch, exhaling a breath she hadn't known she was holding. What was she going to say? 'Oh, Sora, you know, now that I think of it, I think I like you like that too! Let's go out!' She rolled her eyes at her inner dialogue. This was one strange situation she found herself in, and she didn't even know where to begin handling it. She decided she'd have to just go with the flow and do whatever came naturally.

Sora returned with two glasses, one with iced tea and one with water, and sat on the couch beside Mimi. She bit her lip as she handed Mimi her drink. "So... what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

Mimi wrung her hands nervously. "Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking," she told Sora, "since you told me that you liked me. It opened up a whole bunch of new possibilities to me. I was so confused about my feelings. I had to break up with Taichi." Mimi locked eyes with Sora. "I'll have to be honest with you, I've never really considered the possibility of getting into a relationship with another girl before... until now. You really mean a lot to me, and for you, I think I'd like to try a relationship. I don't think I'll be able to figure anything out until I at least give it a try, you know? Well... I think I'm rambling on, I want to know what you think."

Sora blinked at Mimi. "I don't know what to think," she said. "I never, especially after what's happened since you moved back, thought that you could return my feelings. I tried to give up on you... but I didn't think I would have been able to. And now that you say you want to try, for me... it's overwhelming." She smiled at Mimi, the first genuine smile she had given her in a long time. "But I would still love to be your girlfriend," she said, giggling a bit.

"OK then, it's settled." Mimi returned Sora's smile, and edged over to her. Sora wrapped her arm around Mimi's shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"I know this is new for you, so if I do something that makes you uncomfortable, just tell me. We'll take it really slow, OK?" Sora told Mimi.

Mimi snuggled up against Sora. "I don't mind," she told her. "It's nice. Right now, it just... feels right, you know?"

"Mmhmm," Sora mumbled, closing her eyes. "It's perfect. Better than a dream."

Mimi peered at Sora and a mischievous smile began to appear. 'It's now or never,' she thought. She positioned herself closer to Sora until their lips touched. Sora's eyes opened slowly and she was immersed in the moment. Mimi broke the kiss and grinned as Sora looked at her expectantly. "I could get used to this," Mimi finally said, leaning in for another.

~*~

_"This is why you're calling me at eleven at night?"_

Daisuke's grin lessened in intensity as he heard Miyako's reaction. "Yeah," he said. "It's the best thing that has ever happened to me, at least you could pretend to be happy for me..." On the other end of the line, Miyako sighed.

_"I'm very happy for you, Daisuke. It's just that I'm trying to finish my homework here, as I usually do, considering there's no interruptions this late..."_

"Oh. I'm sorry, Miyako. Well, I have more people to call, so I'll talk to you tomorrow... bye!" Daisuke hung up the phone without waiting for her response. He happily danced over to the table, where he had everyone's phone numbers written down, and looked up the next number. "Yamato Ishida," Daisuke read aloud, rushing to dial his number. He was greeted by a groggy voice.

_"Uh... hello?"_

"Hi Yamato!" Daisuke cheerfully said.

_"Daisuke?!"_

Daisuke laughed at how surprised Yamato sounded. "Who were you expecting? Jun?"

_"Actually..."_ Daisuke laughed again. Yamato sighed. _"So, what possessed you to call me?"_

Biting his lip, Daisuke briefly wondered why Yamato seemed so anxious to know that before answering him. "I have something to tell you! You'll never guess what it is."

_"You're right, I'll never guess, so just tell me."_

Daisuke grinned, even though he couldn't express that over the phone. "Hikari finally agreed to go out with me!" he shouted. There was silence at the other end of the phone. After a while, Daisuke started to wonder if the phone call had gotten disconnected or something. "Um... Yamato? Hello?"

_"Oh... sorry. I'm still here. That's great, Daisuke."_

Daisuke frowned at the phone. Yamato seemed kind of... disappointed. But why? Oh, of course. Daisuke felt stupid for not having thought of it before. Yamato must have been hoping for Hikari to choose Takeru. Daisuke winced at his stupid decision, hoping that Hikari would break it to Takeru before his brother did. Finally, he spoke. "Oh, well that's all I wanted to say. I've still got a few more people to call, so... talk to you later!" All of the energy had returned to Daisuke's voice as he said goodbye and hung up the phone.

Of course, in all of his excitement, Daisuke couldn't have noticed the long sigh on the other end of the line.

~*~

How could I have been so stupid? I knew that Daisuke was head-over-heels in love with Hikari. It was very naive of me to think that I even had a chance in the first place.

But part of me held out for the final decision. I hoped that maybe, if Hikari ended up choosing my brother, that maybe Daisuke could love me in return somehow, even if it was some sort of rebound type of thing. I wondered sometimes if his obsession was just an illusion, to cover up the truth he was hiding, that he was secretly in love with me, too.

Those kinds of things are reserved for fairy tales, though. Things never happen like that in real life. But whenever I looked into his eyes, I'd be lost, and something in the way they sparkled when he grinned at me told me to keep on believing. That maybe, it could happen someday. You never know.

Well, a lot of good that did. All this time I could have spent falling for someone who actually had a chance of liking me back, wasted on a hopeless crush.

I started to get incredibly jealous at that point. Sora finally got who she was pining over. So did Daisuke. They got a happy ending, and I didn't even have a fake relationship to speak of anymore.

But I couldn't stay jealous of them too long. They were my friends, and I was happy for them, having found their own happiness and all.

Besides, I found out that one of those old sayings they have really is true: that when the door closes on one opportunity, another door opens.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_Finally! I was so hung up on one of those scenes... I'm still kind of disappointed in this chapter. It seems so unrealistic to me. It felt weird for me to write it because I really had trouble looking into the situations through their eyes and seeing if that was what they really would do. But I've gone through it a couple times, and I can't pinpoint it to anything in specific that I could change to make it better. And it's been quite some time since the date where I said I would have it updated by... ::ducks flying food items:: I know, I know... u_u;  
Well, at least you finally found out that Yamato was majorly crushing on Daisuke... ^_^ mmm... Yamasuke... ::drools:: It's so sad that he couldn't have him! But what was he talking about? I guess you'll have to find out next time, in the epilogue! ::cries:: Yes, that's right, this fic is almost over... I'm going to miss attempting to work on it during English ^_~;  
OK then, well, as always, an email would be nice, and a review would be nicer, cause then I get a review on the page *and* an email... u_u; Here's my email address [angeloffaith28@yahoo.com] so send me some feedback... please? ^_~ Until next time!_


	5. Happily Ever After

_Well, first off, here's my last response to my reviews... ::sniff:: u_u  
Aya Rose - They do. ^_~ That must've been it ::shrugs::  
Ashley - Thank you ^_^ Well, here it is!  
zaraky - Thanks bunches ^_^  
To continue with tradition, here's a summary of last chapter: Mimi, confused about her feelings, broke up with Taichi. Yamato and Sora finally came clean and told everyone that they were homosexual and not really dating. Mimi went after Sora and those two finally got together. Hikari finally accepted Daisuke's many invitations to go out, and he was so happy about it that he called everyone... including Yamato, who was quite upset about it, as he was harboring quite a crush on him.  
I'd like to take the time to thank everyone who's been reading this all along, it means a lot to me! ^_^ I really enjoyed writing this piece, even it's trite and overdone portions, for which I apologize... O.o; But I'm off track. Thank you so much for reading, and enjoy the epilogue._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Reality Check  
by Angel of Faith  
Epilogue:  
Happily Ever After**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Come on, guys!" Hikari called, grabbing Daisuke's hand and running towards the building. "Let's not be late, now." She and Daisuke disappeared into a door.

Takeru glanced at Taichi and shrugged. "It's not like we need to make sure we get good seats, we're VIPs after all. We have the whole front row reserved..."

Taichi just glanced back at Takeru. "That's my sister for you," he told him. He leaned closer to him and whispered, "She's crazy." He followed her inside, though, as did Takeru and the rest of the group.

As the group filed into their row and took their seats, Jun grabbed Daisuke. "How did you manage to get front row seats?" she asked.

Daisuke shrugged. "Yamato's a close friend," he said. Jun pouted. "How did you manage to get second row seats?" he asked her suspiciously.

Jun rolled her eyes. "Why do you think I've been working almost non-stop whenever I wasn't at class for the past three months? Little brothers can be so oblivious." With that, she turned to Momoe, but not before giving her brother an indignant look.

After a while, Yamato's bandmates appeared onstage to the screams of the fans. The female ones in particular screamed louder when Yamato finally walked onto the stage. "Hello, Tokyo!" Yamato shouted. The crowd cheered in response.

"I love you Yamato!" Jun and Momoe called in unison. Yamato glanced at them and sweatdropped.

Yamato walked across the stage and ran a hand through his golden hair. All eyes in the audience followed his movement, though one pair followed with a larger sense of urgency. Yamato's eyes met his, and in the moment they were locked, he sent him a reassuring smile. Yamato grinned. "The first song we will play for you is a song I just wrote last week, just for this concert!" he told the crowd conversationally.

"The song was inspired by someone who has become such an important part of my life..." Yamato trailed off. "It's about finding love and being true to yourself, things everyone values at some level. It really has a lot of meaning to me, because I haven't been true to myself. But now is as good of a time as any to start." Yamato ran his hand through his hair again - it was a nervous habit of his. "So I'd like to let you all know that this song is dedicated to my boyfriend, Jyou."

A collective gasp rose up, momentarily breaking the sounds of the screaming fangirls. Momoe looked at Jun in shock. "Yamato has a boyfriend!" she wailed.

"Now he'll never go out with us!" Jun cried. The pair hugged each other for support, crying onto each other's shoulders.

Daisuke turned and glanced at them, sweatdropping. He elbowed Miyako in the ribs. "We have got to come from the weirdest families," he muttered.

Miyako followed Daisuke's eyes and looked at their sisters. She rolled her eyes. "You said it..." She turned her attention back to the stage, where Yamato started to play his new song, grinning as he did so.

~*~

Things settled down for all of us after Yamato's concert. Everyone seemed to have found a place in their lives where they were completely content, and things were good.

Jyou's confessing his love to Yamato came as a shock to all of us, but we couldn't be gladder that he did it. It turns out that they're really good for each other. Yamato had been acting so moody lately, especially right after he and Sora came out to everyone... but now that he has Jyou, well... let's just say that it's been a long time since I've seen him this happy.

As for Sora and Mimi, they're still going strong. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever see them apart anymore. Though their relationship seemed to come from out of the blue, at least to me, everyone can tell that those two are going to be together for a long time. I swear, those two are so happy together that you can't help but be happy yourself when you're around them.

Miyako's still pursuing Koushiro. She hasn't asked him out yet, though he knows about her feelings and certainly doesn't act like he doesn't enjoy them. Miyako told me the other day that she'd rather continue to just flirt with Koushiro instead of asking him out because she says that the fun is in the hunt. I still say that she's waiting for _him_ to ask _her_ out, though.

Things are also going good for Daisuke and Hikari, which is fortunate for them, but just a bit unfortunate for me. I don't mind, though. I love to see my friends happy, and if Daisuke is the one who makes Hikari happy, then so be it.

Besides, Taichi and I are following in Yamato's footsteps - no, we aren't dating each other, if that's what you're thinking. I meant that we were taking opportunities where we can get them.

"Takeru! What's taking so long?"

Oh, there's Jun now, here to pick me up for our double date with Taichi and Momoe. Hey, don't look at me that way...

"Takeru?"

Well, I've got to run!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_@_@; Well, that was a random ending. Takejun? Tai/Momoe? ::shrugs:: That came out of nowhere, but I had to throw it in for the ending, it was too funny! ^_^;  
Anywho, like I said before, thanks a bunch for reading, it means so much to me! You don't understand! But you know what would mean even more to me? A review or an email [angeloffaith28@yahoo.com] telling me what you thought! Besides, you have to be nice to me... it's my one-year FF.Net anniversary *and* it's almost Christmas! u_u; Have a wonderful day and happy holidays everyone!_


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